It's about the science.
I've spent the last month or so writing an NSF proposal. It's mentally exhausting work. I feel glad to be done. This idea has been percolating in my head for almost 2 years so it needed to get out.
Anyway, part of the proposal writing process is to put together a document about the facilities and equipment you have at your disposal. To show that you know what it takes to do the work, and that you have what it takes. The topic of my proposal is little particles that propel themselves through liquids. I'm very interested in what happens when you put a bunch of these particles together, especially to the liquid around them. So in the facilities document, I described an apparatus that we're planning to build for what's known as particle image velocimetry (PIV), which is a common technique for measuring fluid velocity fields.
And I got this rush of excitement.
I need to remember that feeling.
Amidst all the chaos of meetings, reviewing papers for journals, writing proposals, teaching, there is the science. The feeling washed over me that I might actually get to do PIV, to learn something new about the velocity field generated by a group of microswimmers. And it felt good. It motivated me. Just the prospect of getting to play with lasers and measure fluid flows was exciting to me. And that's what will keep me going through these next few years.
It's about the science.
I need to remember that.
Side note: I will listen to damn near anything that comes out of Chris Thile's mandolin. His music is a salve.
